If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 58:13-14)

Principles Of The Sabbath On The First Day Of The Week

The Sabbath was a very important part of the Law of Moses ordained by God for Israel to cease from various activities of normal day life. The seventh day of the week was to be a holy day. The first six days of the week were to be used for all labor and work, but on the seventh day, it was to be the Sabbath of the Lord. God told Israel that no work was to be done on that day. This included all family members, servants, cattle, and the strangers that came into the land. Part of the reason for the Sabbath was to commemorate the creation of the world and that God ceased from creation on the seventh day. God blessed the seventh day and set it apart as holy.

Moses instructed the Israelites that the Sabbath was to be kept as a sign between God and the people to know that the Lord sets His people apart from the world. The Sabbath was to be a holy day set apart for personal worship to the glory of God. Anyone who profaned the Sabbath day was to be put to death. Capital punishment was reserved for crimes the Lord considered very serious. Murder was to be punished with death. Profaning the Sabbath would also bring the death penalty. During the wilderness wanderings of Israel, a man was found gathering sticks on the Sabbath. He was stoned to death according to the word of the Lord. It was clear that whoever did any work on the Sabbath day was put to death.

The prophet Isaiah described the joy of keeping the Sabbath as a time of delight. God did not give the Sabbath law to Israel for oppressive reasons but to help guide the hearts and minds of the people to know Him and to focus their lives upon the benevolent blessings of a caring and nurturing God. It took great faith to leave off working for a whole day when life existed by what a man did every day. Trusting in the Lord was one of the main lessons learned on the Sabbath. Honoring the word of God came from honoring the Sabbath as a day of rest to worship the Lord. The Jews learned valuable lessons on the Sabbath to turn their hearts toward God. Isaiah encouraged the people not to live for their own pleasures or seek their own will. The Sabbath was a day to center everything in life upon God.

When Jesus Christ came to establish the kingdom of God, He took away the Law of Moses, including the Sabbath. The Law of Moses was only given to the Jews (the Gentiles were not bound by the Sabbath law). As the early church began to learn the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit instructed the followers of Christ to worship the Lord on the first day of the week. This day would become a day to remember when Jesus rose from the dead and delivered sinful man from the wrath of God. One of the key elements of the early church was gathering on the first day of the week to remember the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross through the Lord’s Supper.

Sunday is the first day of the week and the day the church gathers to take of the supper of the Lord in a manner keeping with the will of God. In many churches, Sunday is no longer a day to give to the Lord as a time of delight to worship Him. Sunday is not a holy day of the Lord to honor Him. The attitude of many in the church is that Sunday is a day to do what they want to do, find their own pleasures, speak their own words of excuses, and not gather with the saints to reflect upon the sacrifice of Jesus. One of the greatest reasons people of God excuse themselves for refusing the word of God is because their jobs are more important than obedience. A slight headache can keep one from serving God. When company drops in, plans to worship drop out. Taking vacations includes vacating the worship of God. A person can miss months and years of communion with little concern or care.

The Law of Moses prescribed certain laws about how the Jews were to give or tithe. Under the law of Christ, tithing is no longer bound, but the principles remain for the Christian to give as he purposes from his heart. The Law of Moses bound the Sabbath with the severe penalty of death for those who dishonored the seventh day. Under the law of Christ, the Sabbath is no longer binding, but the principles remain for the Christians to honor God on the first day of the week – every first day of the week. There will be no excuses for those who refuse to honor God on the first day of the week, and for some, it can mean eternal death. Paul warned the Corinthians against taking the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner and that, in so doing, they were guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. How much worse punishment do you suppose, will they be thought worthy who deny the supper of the Lord? It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.